Claiming Your Grimm
by ChibiAyane
Summary: Sean Renard is very possessive of his Grimm, and he will do anything to keep him, even claim him as his mate without the Grimm's permission.
1. Chapter 1

**Claiming Your Grimm**

**Chapter 1**

Nick thought it was getting a little annoying. The Captain had gotten ridiculously overprotective of Nick ever since his brother, Eric, had gotten so terrifyingly close to stealing his Grimm and then the whole Cracher Mortel's "Zombie Apocalypse" thing, as Hank was calling it. And, if he didn't find the overprotectiveness annoying enough on its own, he certainly never expected the headache that came with the Captain's glaringly obvious and ever growing attraction to the Grimm of Portland. Though, it wasn't so obvious to Nick when it started.

When Juliette left Nick, it was after a break-up that was heart shattering for both of them. She decided that, even though she loved Nick deeply and would very much have loved to marry him, she couldn't handle the constant danger and excitement that came with him and his career and his status as a Grimm. So, they broke it off on good terms, both of them with tears rolling down their cheeks, and decided to be just very close friends. She moved out to rid them both of the temptation of getting back together or doing something that they might later regret.

As soon as Juliette left and Nick's single status had gone around the precinct, Captain Sean Renard, for lack of a better word, jumped. At first, it was only sly smiles, slight innocuous touches and friendly banter. Then, it progressed to a sort of friendship; going out for drinks, eating lunch at the same time and/or place, talking and getting to know each other better, etc. But none of that really bothered Nick.

Nick did notice the interest, and it seemed every time Nick went through something else and gained yet another skill or sense, Renard's interest in him grew - as did the protectiveness. He got angry every time Nick got hurt or came close to getting hurt or worse, killed (and, boy, did he throw a fit worthy of Royalty when Nick went into that house full of Skalengecks without waiting for back-up). He seemed to be involving himself in almost every Wesen case that came Nick's way, just as an added safety measure, as he put it when Nick asked why. "Don't want to lose my best detective," he'd said.

Nothing really screamed, "I'm attracted to you!", at least, not to Nick. Wu and Hank kept giving each other looks over Nick's and the Captain's heads or behind their backs, not that Nick saw these. Really, for a star detective with the highest case closure rate in the Northwest, he was painfully unobservant about things that involved his own life and the way the people close to him acted around him.

No. Ever oblivious Nick never saw it coming - until the actual touching started.

It first happened after a night out, drinking with the Captain, Hank and Wu. Nick got smashed, mostly because Wu kept cheating at their drinking game and Nick didn't notice until it was too late and his car keys had been confiscated. The Captain had only had two drinks over a four hour period, so he was okay to drive and volunteered to take Nick home. Hank and Wu went home in a cab, both of them with knowing looks in their eyes.

The Captain took Nick home, except, he didn't drive to Nick's home to just drop him off. He'd driven them both to his own penthouse apartment, where he basically carried Nick from the car to the elevator and then through his front door. He walked (more like staggered, because Nick could barely stand) them into the sitting room, where he dumped Nick onto the sofa.

All Nick remembered was having a dream. A dream that was dangerously close to being wet. It was filled with light caresses and loving kisses. He remembered gentle hands, whispered words, soft lips, warm breath and a hot tongue. There was a shock of sharp teeth at one point, but that had been soothed with more from that hot tongue and those soft lips.

When he woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and bacon, he found himself curled up on Renard's sofa, wrapped up in a thick blanket and he saw his belt, jacket and button-up shirt were folded neatly on the coffee table and his shoes with his socks stuffed inside them were tucked underneath it. His dream flitted away from his conscious mind, as it was rudely overwritten by the killer hangover that boomed through his skull the second the light hit his eyes.

After that night, it just seemed like the Captain was getting comfortable around Nick, which Nick didn't really see a problem with since he was a good friend now. The light touches continued, the brush of fingers that could easily be taken as an accident from being too close. Once or twice, it had crossed Nick's mind that the Captain was in his personal space, those few times when he'd gotten far too close. But he'd never, in his wildest dreams, imagined that the man might've been doing it on purpose.

And speaking of dreams, Nick didn't think anything of the dream he'd had while he was drunk, at first. But then he went over to Monroe and Rosalee's house for lunch.

"Oh, man!" Monroe exclaimed, when he opened the door and hastily covered his nose. "What the hell!? Warn a wolf!"

"Warn you about what?" Nick asked bemusedly, stepping inside and closing the door.

"Dude, you reek of Anspruch pheromones!" Monroe said, waving his hand in front of his nose to ward off the smell.

"Of what?" Nick asked, staring at his best friend like he was speaking in foreign tongues. Which he was - again.

"Claiming pheromones? Someone Claimed you as their mate, with a capital C?" Monroe said, an obvious "Duh!" expression on his face. Nick just stared at him, furrowing his brow. "How can you not know what I'm talking about?! It's kind of a hands on thing to happen. They had to be up close and personal to do it! Lots of physical contact, up to and including licking and biting."

"Uuh... What?" Nick asked, hoping Monroe was mistaken. "Monroe, I haven't been with anyone like that since before Juliette left."

"Uh, then how the hell did it happen? I doubt anyone could have snuck up on you or something," Monroe said. "I mean, even if that happened, you would still know what I'm talking about!"

Rosalee came out of the kitchen, smiling. "Hey, Nick!" she said, as she went to hug him. She stopped short with her arms raised, then hastily covered her nose with her hands. "Wow! That is potent!" she said, letting out a cough.

Nick sighed. "Again! I don't know what you're talking about! I haven't been claimed by someone or whatever!"

"Yes, you have!" Rosalee said, finally taking her hands away from her face. "How can you not know?" She turned to Monroe. "How can he not know?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Monroe told her, then stared at Nick and asked slowly, "Nick, were you... unconscious or incapacitated or something? Some time in the last week? Is there something that might have allowed someone to get close enough to bite you without your knowledge?"

"Bite me?" Nick shook his head, then looked to the side, his brow furrowed in thought. "I got drunk the other night."

"Like, passed out drunk?" Monroe asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Mostly, yeah. What do you mean, bite?"

"Who were you with?" Rosalee asked, seeming slightly worried.

"Just Hank and Wu and the Captain, we went to a bar. The Captain took me home," Nick said. "Well, no, he took me to his... place... uh."

Monroe got closer to Nick and took a deep whiff of Nick's scent. He coughed. "Yeah," he coughed again, rubbing at his nose. "Yeah, that's Zauberbiest I'm smelling. Slight hint of Royal and very expensive cologne. Definitely Captain Renard." He grabbed Nick's shoulder and turned him around, then pulled down the back of his shirt collar to reveal the back of his neck and shoulder. "Oop! Bite mark!"

"WHAT?!" Nick asked, slapping his hand to his neck and feeling it. There he felt the tell tale raised skin of a scar, from a bite that had obviously broken the skin. "But, I would've noticed a bite mark like that! It would have hurt, wouldn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Rosalee said. "Anspruch marks are licked to make them heal over and scar right away. There's an enzyme in certain Wesens' saliva that speeds up the healing of superficial wounds, specifically for this reason," she explained, turning and pulling down the back of her shirt to reveal her own mark, that must have been made while woged; the perfect oval of a human mouth but with canines that were a bit too long. Monroe blushed and reached to pull her shirt back up. Rosalee chuckled at the bright red of Monroe's cheeks.

"Okay," Nick said slowly. "Anspruch, Claiming pheromones, bite mark, claiming me as their mate. What does that all mean, exactly?" Nick asked, then hastily added, "Please, please, don't tell me it means what I think it means!"

"It means that your Captain marked you as his mate, putting his scent on you to ward off any sexual advances from any other Wesen, and unfortunately, from any other normal humans as well," Rosalee explained. Nick groaned in dismay. "The Anspruch pheromones sort of cover up your own pheromones, the ones that are essentially responsible for attracting others to you. So, since humans give off and recognize pheromones as well, even if they don't realize it, they will smell him instead of you and find you unattractive. And Wesen can smell his pheromones on you from a mile way." She frowned. "So, he did this to you without asking you first? "

Nick nodded, his mouth hanging open. "Yeah," he said.

"I didn't even know you two were in that kind of relationship," Monroe mused, putting his hands in his pockets.

"We aren't," Nick growled, his hands curling into fist. Then, he turned around and opened the door. "Excuse me, I'll have to take a rain check on that lunch. I have to go... castrate a Zauberbiest." He closed the door behind himself, slamming it a bit harder than he meant to.

Monroe and Rosalee looked at each other. "Uh oh," Monroe said.

* * *

Nick walked into the precinct with a purpose, barely looking at any thing or any one else. He had one aim: rip Renard's testicles off.

"Hey, Nick! Thought you had the day off?" Hank called from his desk.

"I do!" Nick replied, not even glancing at his partner. "But I have a bone to pick with the Captain." And he stormed into the Captain's office.

Captain Sean Renard looked up as soon as his door opened, wondering who would have the nerve to come in without knocking. "Nick," he acknowledged, signing the document in front of him and setting it aside.

Nick slammed the door behind him and stood in front of Renard's desk, crossed his arms and glared down at him. "You Claimed me?"

The corner of Renard's mouth turned up a little. "Took you long enough to notice."

"I didn't notice," Nick admitted. "Monroe and Rosalee did before I could get within ten feet of them!" Renard smirked. "Please, tell me you can undo it!"

"No," Renard said, standing up. "The mark you're stuck with forever, though it will fade a little over time." He started closing the shades on all the windows in his office. "The pheromones will wear off in a few days." He flicked the lock on the door and turned to Nick. "However, I have no intention of letting either the mark or the pheromones fade."

"Why?" Nick growled.

"Do I really need to explain it to you?" Renard asked, coming to stand in front of the Grimm.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, you need to explain why you did this. Why you think it's okay for you to Claim me as your mate, when we aren't even in that kind of relationship to begin with. Not to mention doing it without asking me first, or even considering what I wanted." Nick stared at Renard for a moment before lowering his voice to a low rumble. "You never do anything without a motive, so what do you get out of tying me to you like this?"

"Aside from having you tied to me at all, as something more than a Captain and his subordinate?" Renard asked in return. "There are many reasons. I will admit that some of them are political. Having a Grimm at my side gives me great advantages over my rivals and enemies. Any Royal having a Grimm on their side will give them a greater standing than even the traditional Royal families; like my father for example. Other reasons for Claiming you are completely selfish on my part. But the only reason you need to concern yourself with, is the fact that I am attracted to you and, now that you're single, I actually have a chance to make it happen without having to do something... drastic."

"Something drastic?" Nick asked. "Claiming me without my permission isn't drastic? And what would you have done if Juliette hadn't left? You would have... what? Had her killed?"

The Captain shrugged. "I won't deny it could have been an option, though only as a last resort."

Nick shook his head with his jaw slacked, not knowing what to say to that. All he really wanted to do in response was hit Renard in the face, but he couldn't do that in the middle of the precinct. He was sorely tempted to do it anyway, though!

"You are unbelievable, you know that!" Nick hissed.

All Captain Renard did was smile. "You've said that to me before. You say I'm unbelievable, yet I'm always telling you the truth when you call me that."

"Now's really not the time to be a smart ass," Nick snapped at him. Renard smiled wider and took a couple steps closer to Nick, who in turn backed away. "What are you doing?" Nick asked, glancing at the locked door.

"Just reaffirming what's mine," Renard answered, as he pushed Nick roughly up against the wall and crushed their lips together.

Nick pushed against the Captain with his hands, but he and the Captain were matched for strength, so it had little effect. Pinned up against the wall as he was, Nick couldn't get enough leverage to push the Captain away, especially once his wrists were snatched and pinned by the Captain's large hands. Nick's next instinct was to bite, so he sunk his teeth into Renard's lip. Renard moaned softly, then woged into his Zauberbiest form and kissed Nick more forcefully, biting into Nick's lip and making the Grimm whimper in startled pain. Sean Renard silently thanked his promiscuous parents for his half-breed status that saved his powers from the effects of a Grimm's blood.

Nick didn't know or understand what had just happened, and he wouldn't know until later. By trading blood, they had just initiated the process of bonding. The process would only be completed once the two of them consummated the bond, and the bonding process would make them both crave the touch of the other until it was completed.

Taking Nick for his own was now Sean Renard's top priority, but bedding the Grimm of Portland would prove much more of a challenge for the Royal Zauberbiest than simply Claiming him had been.

Renard growled and broke the kiss, then flipped Nick around, pressing him face first against the wall. With one hand he yanked the collar of the Grimm's shirt down and the other went around to cover his mouth, just as he sunk his sharper than normal teeth into the bite mark on Nick's shoulder. Nick yelled against Renard's hand, the sound coming out more like a muffled moan, instead of the shout of pain it was meant to be.

With the Captain pressed up against his back, Nick could feel the taller man's stiffening member poking into him. 'That's it!,' Nick thought to himself. His patience snapped and he smashed his elbow backwards into the Captain's ribs. Renard's teeth were ripped from Nick's flesh, as he stumbled backward with a grunt of pain. The wound on Nick's shoulder bled copiously, since it was torn deeper than Renard had intended and hadn't been licked. Nick spun around and punched the man square in the jaw and knocked him onto his ass, then stormed out of the room. Thankfully, his shirt was black, so no one saw the blood stain that was spreading down his shoulder and back.

Captain Sean Renard stood up, smirking and rubbing his jaw, while licking the remnants of Nick's blood from his lips. "Oh, my dear, oblivious baby Grimm," he muttered to himself, as he sat down behind his desk once again.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long paragraphs. I tried to cut them down and split them up, but they still ended up really long.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Nick went home after that. He walked into his house - the same one he'd shared with Juliette - and slammed the door behind him as hard as he could, causing the window in the top of the door to crack. He ignored it and went upstairs to the master bathroom. He stripped his shirt off and turned to get a look at the bite mark in the mirror. It was wide and deep and still bleeding. Just looking at it made Nick furious.

He growled to himself and put a towel over the wound to staunch the bleeding. He held it there for a couple minutes, fuming as he remembered what happened in the Captain's office and what was said. He shook his head, tossed the bloody towel on the floor and stripped the rest of his clothes off, noticing that the blood had seeped down into the fabric of his jeans as well and made a mental note to check the driver seat in his car for blood later.

He decided to take a shower and wash the stink of Sean Renard off of him. He was pretty sure it wouldn't work and it would probably make his wound bleed again, but he was still going to try. He even grabbed a pumice stone and used it to 'exfoliate', though it was more like scraping the entire top layer of his skin off.

Once he was finished, his skin was red and he was still fuming and spoiling for a fight. He put a gauze bandage over the bite mark and got dressed, grabbed his keys, and left for the trailer.

Hopefully, his ancestors will have something to say about Claiming or Anspruch marks and pheromones. He'd never really done any major research into Royals either, so he thought it was about time to do that as well, all things considered. He stopped at a little Japanese restaurant and grabbed some take-out on his way by, then headed straight for the storage yard. He sent a text to Monroe to tell him where he was and asked him if he had time to come by and help or offer advice. Monroe quickly sent a message back saying that he would be there soon with Rosalee, after they stopped at the spice shop to grab a couple books that Rosalee had about the subject.

For a good fifteen minutes after he'd gotten to the trailer, Nick sat in silence at the small desk and used that time to eat his teriyaki chicken and draw a few sketches of Wesen to help himself calm down a little more. He pulled his own personal Grimm journal out of the pile and made another entry about a Wesen he saw at the Japanese restaurant.

Ever since he found out what he was and what he was seeing, Nick made a point of drawing and describing every single Wesen he encountered in his own journal. He would write the person's name, if he knew it, and their breed and then he would draw a perfect likeness of both their human face and then their woged face from memory and then filled in the rest of the space on the page with his story of how he saw or met that Wesen and how he felt about the way that Wesen was living their life, or at least of what he'd seen of their life.

Most of his entries had good things to say about the ones he'd seen or encountered, especially the ones he hadn't met while on the job. He'd made several entries about Monroe, Rosalee, Bud and even the Captain, since he spent the most time with them. And, though they may not be Wesen, Nick had even made entries about Juliette, Hank, and Wu, and also his own mother, Kelly, and Aunt Marie.

He brought his pen up to start a new entry about Renard, but his hand shook as it hovered over the page as his fury rose again. He was too angry to draw or write about that bastard right now, so he dropped his pen and closed his journal, just as Monroe and Rosalee knocked and came inside the trailer.

"What happened?" Monroe asked right away, as he sat down on the small bed. In answer, Nick took his shirt off and carefully peeled the bandage off of his shoulder. Monroe came over to get a better look at the gaping, jagged, semi-oval shaped wound in his friend's shoulder. "Jesus! What did he do? Maul you!?"

"No, I don't think he meant to make it so deep," Nick said, honestly. "But I wasn't exactly happy about being strong-armed into renewing the mark. So, I hit him and left before he even had the chance to lick it." Nick sighed and added, "Or before I had the chance to do more than just punch him in the face."

Rosalee fished a small jar out of her purse. "I had a feeling something like this might have happened." She went over to Nick and applied a little bit of the cloudy viscous contents of the jar to Nick's wound. "This is a special healing ointment, it'll work in a similar fashion to how the licking would have. It's not as quick or thorough as licking, but it'll scab it over at least and reduce the pain."

The ointment made the wound tingle and the throbbing sting started to abate. "Thank you," Nick said, sighing in relief.

Rosalee smiled and wiped her hands off on a handkerchief, then plopped the jar back into her purse. "So, you want to know about the Binden Process?" she asked.

"Binden Process?" Nick asked.

"The Anspruch marks and pheromones are only the first step in the Binden or Bonding Process," Monroe said.

Nick stared at them slack-jawed. "Bonding process?! He wants to bond with me?" Monroe and Rosalee nodded. "Define bonding?" he asked, in hopes that it would be something other than what he thought it was.

"Bonding as in binding, uniting, tying, unifying... marrying," Monroe said tentatively.

"He wants to marry me?!" Nick shrieked in a higher voice than he even thought was possible for him to do. Monroe cringed at the volume.

"That would be the only explanation," Rosalee said, shrugging her shoulders. "That is the only reason a Wesen would do this process. He wouldn't have made this decision lightly, because once it's been initiated there is almost no way of going back."

Nick sighed and put his face in his hands. Did he trip and fall down a rabbit hole? "You said almost no way. So, is there a way to stop it?" he asked.

Rosalee chewed on her lip a moment. "There is, but it depends on what stage you're at in the Binden Process. What all has the Captain done, that you know of?"

Nick took a deep breath and thought about it. "Just the pheromones and the biting that I know of. He kissed me... and there was obvious evidence that he wanted to do more poking into my back when he bit me."

"So, he's obviously had your blood, but have you tasted his?" Monroe asked.

Nick stopped and blinked. "Why?" he asked apprehensively.

Monroe and Rosalee gave each other a despairing glace. "If you've traded blood, then you've already gone past the point of no return," Rosalee informed. "At this point, the bond has been started and it'll act like it has a mind of its own, driving the two of you together until it's completed. You can try to fight it, if you want, but I've never heard of anyone successfully backing out after blood sharing."

Nick gave a deep suffering sigh and slouched to put his head on the desk, drawing his arms up to wrap around his head, like he was trying to hide from the world.

"What if I just avoided him?" Nick asked, his voice muffled under his arms.

"What do you mean?" Monroe asked. "You can't exactly avoid him, man. He's your boss."

Nick sat up and looked at his friends. "Well, what if he wasn't my boss anymore? I could transfer to another precinct or something. Would I be able to avoid this if I stayed away from him?"

"You can try," Rosalee said. "But don't any transfers or resignations have to go through your captain to be accepted? I don't see him approving something like that."

"Usually, it would have to go through him," Nick said, nodding. "But if I take it to the Police Chief and tell him that I'm having a dispute with the Captain and that it's affecting our work, he would be the one to handle it."

"You sure you want to just quit your job?" Monroe asked. "Or even transfer to another precinct. You'd have to leave Portland. Isn't that a little extreme for fighting a battle that you'll probably end up losing anyway?" Nick sighed again and put his face back on the desk with a dull thunk. "Not to mention the fact that Renard isn't going to just let you leave, man. He seems like the type that would just lock you up and throw away the key, just to keep you from leaving."

Nick sat up again. "Well, I'm not going to give him a choice, or make it easy for him," he said decisively. "This is my life, I don't need him fucking with it any more than he already has!"

Monroe held his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine. It's your choice. So, what are you going to do?"

Nick took a deep breath. "I'm going to go find an apartment out of town, then hand my request for transfer to Renard. If he denies it, I'll go to the Police Chief and hand in my badge."

"What if the Police Chief denies it?" Rosalee asked. Nick looked at her with confusion. "Nick, Renard is a Royal and a Zauberbiest. He's a master at politics and manipulating people and he has the money to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Police Chief and even the Commissioner and the Mayor were in his back pockets. He probably has influence over anyone with any shred of power or importance. Especially importance to you. Nick, he tried to buy Monroe's and my loyalty as soon as he was sure we knew who he was." Nick stared at them, dumbfounded. Rosalee smiled mischievous. "Don't worry, he didn't succeed."

"He was kinda pissed when I told him to go away. Though, I didn't say it in so many words," Monroe said, shrugging.

Nick snorted and sighed again. "Well, then I'll throw my badge and gun on Renard's desk and just leave."

"What would you do for a living then?" Monroe asked.

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, I don't really have any other skill sets." Nick sighed and shook his head. "I'll figure something out, if it comes to that. I'll give it a week, hand in my transfer request and see what happens."

"Okay, man," Monroe said, shrugging.

Rosalee nodded. "Well, if you need anything, call us. In the meantime, I'm going to do some research and see if there's a way to reverse or nullify a bond. But you should do some thinking too, Nick." She put her hand on his uninjured shoulder to make him look at her. When he did, she smiled sadly at him. "You need to think about if being bonded to Captain Renard is such a terrible thing." When Nick opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off. "I know he did it behind your back and without your permission, but the point is, he would not have done it lightly. There's every likelihood that he did it this way because he thought there wasn't any other way of winning your affections. He is a man, Nick, and you've only ever been known to go for women. If he didn't do this, you probably wouldn't have even given him a chance."

"I just don't understand what he hopes to accomplish with this," Nick told her, looking a little helpless. "Wanting to bond with me because he's attracted to me is one thing - and he did admit to being attracted to me - but he said that having a Grimm with him would also give him more power and standing over his enemies. He pretty much told me right to my face, that he would have killed Juliette to get her out of the way, if she and I hadn't broken up." Monroe's eyes widened and flashed red; he liked Juliette, and would have torn Renard apart if he'd done something like that. "Why, so he can build his own kingdom? And then what? What's he going to do with it?"

"I don't know," Rosalee confessed. "But, if he plans on making a different kind of Wesen government, having someone like Renard as a leader would be the lesser evil, compared to the Royal families. Especially after seeing all the lives they almost destroyed as collateral damage from that last stunt to try and capture you. But whatever he's doing, if he wants to overthrow his family or something like that, he plans on taking you with him."

Nick furrowed his brow in slight apprehension. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

"I don't know what his end game is, Nick," Rosalee continued. "But it involves you and he's probably going to hold onto you with everything he has." Rosalee sighed and chewed on her lip. "My point is, I'm just not sure fighting this Binden Process with the Captain is such a good idea for you, him, or anyone else that would be affected by the outcome. And, considering this is you and the Prince of Portland we're talking about, anyone else would be the entire Wesen community of the State of Oregon." Nick sighed heavily and put his face in his hands.

"And, you know, Nick," Monroe started. "I'm not one for politics, you know I'm not one for politics. Politics generally just make my head hurt."

Nick chuckled lightly, nodding his agreement to that sentiment.

"But with the way things are now," Monroe said. "Every Wesen in Portland and even the whole Northwestern portion of the United States, and Renard's family back in Austria and the other Royal Families, even the guys from the Dragon's Tongue over in Japan, know that you and Renard work together to protect and take care of Portland and the rest of Oregon. And everyone knows that you're butting heads with the Renard family." Monroe paused.

"They think of the two of you as one unstoppable unit," the Blutbad continued. "If you just up and disappear, that's likely to turn a few unsavory heads in the Captain's direction. All the vultures and the bottom feeders are going to move in and try to take over. People are going to go after Renard's head, and even more are going to hunt you down and try to take yours. Renard's family is going to jump at the chance to put him in his place and put you in yours - or at least what they think is your place. You two split up, in the end Renard is going to get killed and you will either be killed as well or forced to comply with whatever they want you to do. I'd personally rather see you and Renard bonded than to see both of you dead."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to let the Captain decide what to do with my life?" Nick asked, now looking stricken. He hadn't thought about the possible repercussions of quitting his job. He honestly hadn't thought further than he just wanted to get away from Renard. He didn't think about what other lives would be changed by it.

"No, we're not saying that," Monroe hurried to reassure him. "I totally disagree with what Renard has done to you. Hell, I'd love to rip his throat for doing this to you. But I think you should think this through a little more before you jump off the deep end. You're not just Detective Nick Burkhardt; cop by day, Grimm by night. You're a pillar of the Wesen community. More than that, you're the frickin' load bearing wall now, man. Remove you from the picture and the whole construct caves in on itself, and people know that. A lot of people have come to rely on you just being there to protect them, something they didn't have before. The Wesen community of Portland was a pretty leaky boat, before you came along and plugged up all the holes."

"The point is, Nick," Rosalee continued. "You've helped a lot of people, you've saved even more, you've scared all the bad guys off..."

"Well, most of them," Monroe cut in.

"And more good Wesen have moved into Oregon just to be near someone who is willing to protect them," Rosalee continued, sending a small glare at Monroe. "You've changed the way most Wesen look at Grimms. Instead of a nightmare, you've turned into a guiding light. No one has seen a Grimm that was willing to do all that in centuries."

"And Renard, who was raised and taught the history of the Royals and the Grimms," Monroe picked up. "Has seen the possibility of fixing what's been broken all these years."

Nick stared at Monroe, suddenly feeling like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. And in hindsight, it probably was. He was a different kind of Grimm, and his effort to just be himself and do his job, had turned more heads and changed more lives than he ever thought possible. It was never his intention to be more than just Detective Nick Burkhardt, but now that he was more than that, apparently there was no going back.

Monroe stared at Nick for a moment, thinking things over in his head. "Remember, you told us your mom said that the Grimms used to work for the Royals. Well, when you told us that, Rosalee and I were intrigued and we wanted to find out what the hell happened. So, we've talked to some people, pulled some strings and called in some favors and done our own research. Turns out, the Grimms used to be the arbitrators, the police of the Wesen world, if you will." Monroe shifted in his seat.

"Royals were the rulers, they made the decisions for what was best for the community," Monroe explained. "And they counted on the Grimms to keep the trouble makers in line and protect those that needed protecting. That way of thinking went out the window about eight hundred years ago during the Fourth Crusade, and since then, things have just gone down hill and gotten completely out of hand."

"Instead of protecting Wesen, Grimms started killing Wesen," Rosalee cut in. Both of them seemed eager to finally get all of this out and to take the opportunity to tell Nick everything they'd found and what they'd figured out on their own . "Without the Grimms, instead of protecting their kingdoms and ruling with fairness and mercy, Royals turned into power hungry tyrants and it's been that way ever since."

"Now, fastforward to the present era," Monroe started. "People have forgotten what it used to be like, Wesen are scared, Grimms are feared, Royals are desperate and bloodthirsty. Then suddenly, there's a half-Royal who wants to be more than a bastard son of the King of Austria and to be a better ruler than his father or fore-fathers ever were. Then, there's also a Grimm who wants to be the good guy, who is making friends with almost every Wesen he meets and all he wants to do is help Wesen and humans alike and as fairly as possible."

"By some miracle, you're both in the same city and you know each other and you both want the same thing. But that's all it takes," Rosalee continued, smiling. "It completely blows my mind to say this, but this is where a new world order would start, Nick. A new order that the Wesen world badly needs. Renard has seen that possibility, everyone has seen that possibility. That's why Renard's family is so desperate to get you and your key away from him. He gains too much power by having you around, and his family doesn't like that. And he wants to make sure that you can't be taken away from him. With the two of you bonded, most Wesen would see it as some kind of sacrilege to separate you two. Which means, more people would fight to keep you together. He's trying to protect you both by doing this." Rosalee paused. "He's going about it all wrong, but his intentions are logical and mostly pure. Quite frankly, I still want to whollop him with my tea kettle for forcing this on you, but this could still be a good thing."

Rosalee watched Nick for a moment, hesitating before she added the last piece of information that Nick needed to know. "Nick, remember Ian? Ian Harmon, the leader of the Resistance that you helped a couple years ago?" Nick nodded, struck speechless by everything that was being laid on him. "I've been in contact with him. Do you know that even the Laufer have people in Portland? They moved them in a few months ago, and they're here to protect you. Just to protect _you_! I'm sure they're here to keep an eye on Renard as well, but they are mostly here to keep you safe from any assassins that the Royals might send after you. They know that you and Renard are the key to getting what they and most other Wesen have always wanted. Freedom from the Royal Families."

Nick once again had his head buried in his arms over the desk. "This is too much," he whispered.

"It's still up to you," Rosalee said, wrapping Nick in her arms from behind as best she could. "It's still your life. We will support you in any decision you make. We just wanted to be sure you thought about everything beforehand. I know it's alot and it's a big decision and really I don't envy you, but you needed to know all the angles involved."

"Like you said before, give it a week, hand in your transfer and see what happens," Monroe put in. "You and Renard don't have to be together to continue to protect the Wesen community. Honestly, I can see why he did this, but I think he jumped at the chance way too fast. And, hey, maybe Rosalee and I can find something that will either stop the bond or at least delay it until you're ready for it."

Nick looked up at Monroe, glancing around at Rosalee who was still holding him. He nodded his head. "It would be great, if you guys could find something to help out. I'll... think about everything and make a decision. Maybe I'll just see how things go at work for the next few days."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took so long! I had a bit of writer's block and then there was a snag in the plot... I fixed it though! Finally, I just decided to delete the part that wasn't working and try again.**

* * *

The next day found Nick walking into the precinct, coffee in hand. He went to his desk and greeted Hank, avoiding even looking at the Captain's office.

"So," Hank started, after they'd settled in to work on some paperwork. "What were you doing here yesterday? You came in like a whirlwind and left even faster."

Nick shrugged. "I had to talk to the Captain about something," he deflected.

"Yeah, must've been some talk," Hank said, smirking. "That was quite a bruise you left on his jaw. Perfect imprint of your knuckles, and it's still there this morning." Nick scowled at Hank to avoid looking in the direction of the Captain's open shades to see the bruise for himself, then turned back to his computer screen. "Fine, don't tell me. But if you get your ass fired for punching the Captain, I'm gonna be real upset." Hank smirked. "Don't want to have to train a new partner."

Nick chuckled derisively, muttering to himself so that Hank barely heard him. "If only it were that easy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hank asked, raising an eyebrow at Nick.

Nick shook his head, keeping his eyes on the computer. "Nothing, it's not important."

"Uh huh," Hank said, going back to his own paperwork.

About twenty minutes later, Nick had the displeasure of hearing the Captain's voice. "Burkhardt, can I talk to you, please?" Nick ignored him, pretending not to have heard him.

"Uh, Nick," Hank murmured, nudging Nick's leg from under the desk.

"Hm?" Nick turned to Hank with a questioning look.

"The Captain's talking to you," Hank answered.

Nick sighed, almost pouting as he turned to look at the Captain, who was starting to appear annoyed at being ignored. Nick was dismayed to notice the Captain had closed the shades on all of his windows. He pushed his chair back slowly and stood up, walking over to the Captain, angry glower firmly in place. He glanced at the dark bruise on the Captain's jaw, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction when he noticed that it really was shaped just like his fist. Then he slipped past Renard and into the office.

Once Captain Renard had closed the office door behind himself, he turned to Nick, seemingly trying not to fidget. "Before you start talking," Nick interrupted, just as Renard opened his mouth to say something. The Captain closed his mouth and scowled. "If you even try to do the same thing you did yesterday, I will shoot you." And he made a point of putting his hands on his waist, one palm resting on his gun.

Renard smirked, then shrugged. "Fine. I can wait." He went back around his desk and sat in his chair. "I assume you understand what's going on now?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "And just so you know, Monroe wants to rip your throat out and Rosalee wants to beat you with her tea kettle."

The Captain chuckled. "Yes, well, I didn't really have much choice in the matter either." He laced his fingers together over his desk. "I've gotten word that my family is going to try again. I don't know what they're going to do or when, but I know they are working with the Reapers. And since their plans with the Cracher Mortel failed, it only stands to reason that they're going to try something more drastic this time. This time they're going to come after more than just you, they'll target all of your friends and allies. They'll do anything to get to you."

Nick sat down in one of the chairs across from his Captain, sighing tiredly. "And you think tying us together like this is going to help matters?"

"Yes," Renard answered bluntly.

"How?"

"Well, first of all, it would give my family fewer options," Renard replied. "They would have a harder time finding an assassin willing to come over here and take on a Grimm and a Royal who are bound as one unit. However, that won't stop the Reapers, but at least it means my family won't be able to send anyone else." Captain Renard smirked. "I'm not worried about Reapers so much. Word is, you're more than capable of getting rid of a few of them on your own."

Nick looked away, feigning innocence.

Renard chuckled at the look on Nick's face. "There are a few other groups that my family might be able to entice into service, but I'm keeping an eye on them." He shrugged, more to himself than to Nick. "Secondly, it means the Wesen in Portland who have sworn themselves to me, and the ones you've won over, will fight to keep you and I both safe and together. They'll fight to keep you here with me and away from my family and the other Royal families. You'd be surprised how many Wesen around here would be incensed to have their friendly neighborhood Grimm targeted or taken from them. They like having you around, now that most of them have figured out that you're the good guy."

Nick was still looking away. "There's no way around this, is there?" he asked, finally looking back at his Captain.

"No," Renard said. "If there was, you really think I would have just jumped right into Claiming you? No. I've looked at our situation from every possible angle; this is the only way." Renard looked at Nick up and down, then smirked again. "Can't say I'm complaining."

Nick was humiliated to find himself blushing. 'It's just the bonding process,' he thought to himself. 'It has to be!' He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, looking away again. "Can I get back to work now?"

Renard nodded. "Yeah. But we will have to continue this conversation again at some point."

"Fine," Nick replied, standing up and moving to the door.

"Oh, and Nick?" the Captain asked, getting the Grimm's attention again. "You might want to change your shirt. You're bleeding through it." Nick craned his neck to see that the mark Renard had left yesterday was indeed bleeding through his shirt. "I can fix that, if you'd like?" Nick scowled at him and left the room, slamming the door on his way out.

* * *

The day after the conversation with the Captain went without incident. Nick was out of the office all day working a crime scene, so he didn't even see the Captain until it was almost time to go home for the day. So, the only contact they had was a scowl from Nick after the Captain leered at him when he walked by.

Nick had decided not to tell Hank about what was going on just yet. Mostly because he himself didn't really understand it. So, how was he supposed to explain to his partner that their boss, a Royal Wesen prince and somewhat friend to them, was essentially trying to get him to marry him? The man had completely skipped over any semblance of dating or courting and was just basically trapping Nick in a complicated situation based on necessity. Or so Renard said it was a necessity. Whether it actually was necessary remained to be seen.

So, no, Nick didn't say a word. He just went about his day like normal, trying to keep his mind off of everything but his job.

The day after that, just after he'd finished lunch, Nick was called into the Captain's office, where the blinds were closed once again.

"What?" Nick asked in an annoyed tone, once he was inside and the door was closed.

"It's been a week," Renard answered simply, leaning his hip against the side of his desk.

"A week? Since?" Nick asked, confused.

"Since I Claimed you," Renard said, smirking.

"And that's supposed to mean something?"

"It's time to renew the pheromones and the mark," the Captain said bluntly, his face expressionless. Though there was a glint in his eye that Nick couldn't quite identify.

Nick's brow furrowed and he eyed his Captain apprehensively. "What if I said I don't want to?"

Renard stood up straight, taking a few steps closer to Nick. "Then, I'll have to force you. Which is something I'd rather not have to do."

The Grimm scoffed. "It's that simple for you, isn't it? Someone disagrees or wants something different, you just force them to change their minds?" he spat, glaring daggers at the other man.

The Captain scowled and took a step closer, standing tall over Nick. "No, it's not always that simple. But in this case, it is," he growled, his temper barely kept tethered.

Nick continued to glare at Renard, crossing his arms. "Does it have to be done now?" he asked, grudgingly.

The Royal Zauberbiest studied him for a moment before he nodded. "Normally, I would have said it could wait until after work. We could go to my place or yours and do it there. But, knowing you, you'd find some way of getting out of it or some kind of urgent matter will get in the way. So, yes, we need to do it now."

The detective fidgeted a moment, shifting uncomfortably. "How do you even do the pheromone thing?" he asked, his curiosity winning out. He was apprehensive when the Captain gave him a smirk with a devious edge to it.

"Let's just say most Wesen have an extra salivary gland for a reason," he asked, now smiling in a teasing manner.

Nick grimaced. "You're going to lick me, aren't you?" he asked, sounding a little disgusted. The Captain now had a full blown grin, and it unsettled Nick a little bit.

"Yes, but it's a little more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my pheromones need to cover and mask yours," Renard answered. "You think that'll happen with just simply licking you a couple times?" Nick grimaced in disgust. The amount of reluctance coming off the Grimm was palpable to Renard. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep it above the belt, for now." Nick's jaw dropped and Renard couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "You don't remember that first time at all, do you?"

Nick shook his head. "No, not really."

"Well, you were pretty drunk," the Captain said, nodding. "You didn't even know where you were, so of course you didn't even notice you were naked for a few minutes." Nick's face paled slightly, and Renard laughed again. "Relax, I didn't do anything... untoward." Nick swallowed and glared at him weakly. "Shirt off," Renard ordered.

A sigh came from Nick's lips, as his fingers twitched. His hands moved slowly up to his shirt, fingering the buttons as the Captain moved closer to him. Nick blinked a couple times, seeming to debate something in his head, before he started unbuttoning his shirt. The Captain was standing directly in front of him, towering over him and making Nick feel small. The man was a head taller than him, after all. Nick fought back a blush because he could practically feel the Captain's eyes on him. He dropped his shirt off of his shoulders and tossed it onto one of the chairs. Then the Captain gently grabbed Nick's arms, and carefully turned them around. He pushed the Grimm backwards until his legs hit the large desk and had him lean against it, as he put his face into the crook of Nick's neck.

Nick's breath hitched when the first lick came. He could feel his face heat up into what must have been a tomato red blush. The nervous Grimm tried to suppress the shivers when the Captain started licking every inch of his neck first, before he moved down to Nick's chest. It was strange, he was licking him all over, like a mother cat giving a kitten a bath. Except the saliva that was left behind felt thicker than normal, it was almost slimy. It chilled Nick's skin when the air hit the freshly licked areas.

A startled moan rushed out of Nick's mouth, when the Captain's lips closed over one of his nipples. He hadn't noticed that he was being pushed slowly backward, until his back met the top of the desk. Renard's tongue kept going, moving down to Nick's abdomen, even licking into his navel.

"Captain, I need you to sign... - HOLY CRAP, the forms can wait!" Wu shouted, walking back out and closing the door again, after he'd walked right in without knocking. Apparently, they'd forgotten to lock the door.

The Sergeant must have gotten quite the eye full. Nick laying across the Captain's desk, half-naked. The Captain standing between his legs, with his tongue moving across Nick's skin, dangerously close to the detective's belt line.

Nick tried to get up, but Captain Renard just pushed him back down onto the desk. "Not done yet," he growled, stepping away to lock the door, before he was back again and just continued what he was doing as though they hadn't been interrupted.

After a moment, Nick pushed Renard away. "Stop," he said as he sat up. "I can't do this..."

Renard didn't say anything, just stared at Nick with a heated gaze, then shoved Nick back onto the desk, and went to resume his task of covering his Grimm with his saliva.

Nick shoved him away again. "I said stop!" he growled.

"No," Renard hissed, grabbing Nick's arms and trying to push him back onto the desk.

Nick clenched his jaw and struggled against the Captain, pushing him away with all his strength, which barely made the half-Royal move back a step. The Captain tried pushing Nick back onto the desk again, but Nick was having none of it, using both hands to keep the bigger man away.

"Get away from me!" Nick spat.

Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to continue with the Anspruch pheromones right now, Renard sighed and decided to move onto the next step before Nick could start a fight. He woged and pulled Nick against his chest. He only had to bend his head down to sink his teeth into his claiming mark again. He was proud that Nick managed to keep most of his cry of pain in. Only a hissed whimper came out, before Nick's temper rose because the Captain strong armed him - again.

Renard only had the chance to lick the mark once before a knee collided with his groin and he was shoved off of Nick and onto the floor, where he could only gasp in pain and hold himself.

Nick grabbed his shirt and put it back on. "That's it. I'm done," Nick said, buttoning his shirt back up. He snatched his badge from his belt and threw it at Renard. "Don't you ever touch me again!" Then he left, banging the office door shut on his way out.

**TBC**

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**Reviews are much appreciated! Any ideas may make more chapters come out sooner!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Less than twenty minutes after Nick kicked his Captain in the balls and threw his badge at him, the Grimm was in the back room of the Spice Shop with Rosalee tending to his bleeding bite mark, while he took the opportunity to vent his frustrations at the understanding Fuchsbau.

"So, he actually tried to force you?" Rosalee asked, putting a bandage over the mark on his shoulder.

"Yes-sss," Nick grumbled, hissing as the bandage touched the sore spot.

"And you quit your job," Rosalee said.

"Yeah," Nick replied, sighing. "It was more of an impulse in the heat of the moment, but I think I made the right choice," he murmured, rolling his bandaged shoulder to make the tape holding on the gauze looser.

Rosalee hesitated. "So... What are you going to do next? Are you going to move away?"

"I don't know," Nick sighed again. "I don't want to but I think I'll have to, if I want to get Renard off my ass. I don't even want to go home right now because he's probably already there waiting for me."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Rosalee agreed with a smile. "Did you think about what Monroe and I said?"

"What?" Nick asked, frowning.

"We asked you if you would think about whether being bonded to Renard was such a terrible thing," she said, putting her wound care tools away. The only reply she got was another sigh. "Under normal circumstances, I would tell you to leave, get away from Renard and Portland but... in this case? Your life is so much more complicated than others, Nick."

Nick scowled. "Yeah. I noticed."

"I, personally, think you should give him a chance," Rosalee said, coming to sit beside him on the sofa. "If only so you could enjoy the benefits that would come with it."

"Benefits?" Nick asked in confusion.

"Yes," Rosalee answered. "Think about it, if you and he were bonded, you would both gain allies and followers; protection. Renard has a lot of friends in high places, and even some in very low places, more than anyone knows. The political value alone would be worth the cost. But I know you don't care about that. If you and he were bound together, you would be safer, at the very least. Fewer Wesen would attack you, because you're both a Grimm and a Royal's mate. That is something everyone would be glad for. We don't like seeing you get hurt so much. The added protection from the Royal's binding would be a god send for you. No Wesen in their right mind wants to get on a Royal's bad side."

"Why?" Nick asked, purely out of curiosity.

"Well," Rosalee began. "I'm not sure how it works for Sean Renard since he's a half-blood, but apparently a woged Royal is really a sight to behold. They're the only Wesen out there that can actually transform their whole bodies."

"Wait," Nick cut in. "Are you telling me Captain Renard can turn himself completely into an animal?"

"Yes and no," Rosalee said. "I've heard that a Royal's full form is akin to a dragon or a gargoyle." Nick thought about that, then snorted out a laugh when he pictured Renard sitting on the roof of a building watching the city below. "That was funny?" Rosalee asked, with a smile.

"Sorry," Nick said, clearing his throat. "I just pictured Renard as a gargoyle, sitting on a roof and glaring at all the little people below him." Rosalee's smile widened and she coughed to stop herself from laughing.

"So, anyway, that's why most people won't go against a Royal. They have a very intimidating form and they seem to possess this ability to make people do as they say. An influence of sorts. According to the research Monroe and I have done, it doesn't work on Grimms and some other Wesen are resistant to it. Another reason why he's doing this bonding process the way he is, he can't make you want to bond to him like he could with anyone else, if he so chose."

"He can make people follow his orders?" Nick asked, staring at her, anger building up inside him.

"Not necessarily," Rosalee replied. "He can make them WANT to follow his orders, he can't actually make them do anything." Nick relaxed a little. "It's probably why he's such a good commanding officer. His Royal blood gives him what he needs to do it." She got up and went about making tea for the both of them. "The point of the matter is, Nick, he can't make you want it but he definitely wants you, for many reasons. I really don't think you'd be able to leave Portland, I don't think he'll let you. And you don't even want to leave anyway, so why do it?"

"To prove that he can't make decisions in my life," Nick said. "He can't just overlook what I want and do whatever the hell he feels like doing!"

Rosalee sighed. She couldn't really argue with that. This process with Renard would be going far better if the man had tried dating or courting the Grimm first.

* * *

An hour later, Nick pulled up to his house and parked in his usual spot. Renard's SUV was parked across the street and Nick could see him waiting in the driver's seat. Nick got out of his car with a heavy sigh, pretending not to have seen the man, who hopped out of his vehicle the second after Nick had gotten out of his. The Grimm walked fast up the steps and path to his front door. The sound of Renard's footsteps behind him made Nick's face twitch with irritation.

"Nick!" Renard called. Nick ignored him and hurried through his front door. He tried to slam the door in the Captain's face, but a strong hand and a foot in the doorway prevented it. Nick tried to push the door closed, but growled and gave up after a few seconds and walked away, leaving Renard to choose if he would come in or leave. He hoped he'd do the latter. He didn't, Renard came in. "Nick, at least listen to me!"

Nick again didn't say anything, just dropped his keys in the dish, shucked off his coat and threw it over a chair, then headed straight into the kitchen. He needed a beer, if he was going to get through a conversation with Renard without strangling him with his own tie. The annoyed Grimm opened his fridge and grabbed one beer. Hell if he was going offer one to his jackass of a boss... former boss. He opened it with his thumb and chugged half of it before he turned to find Renard right there in his personal space. That just annoyed Nick even more. So did the short spike of arousal that went through him when Renard's personal scent wafted up his nose. Nick's eyebrow twitched and he shoved past the Captain and headed for the living room.

"Nick," Renard said, sounding annoyed as well.

"What!?" Nick snapped, spinning around and pinning the man with a glare that would send any other Wesen running for the hills.

Sean sighed. "Will you listen to me? Just hear me out!"

Nick glared harder, chewing the inside of his cheek. He didn't answer. He only turned and sat on the couch. Renard took that as an invitation to speak, or at the very least it wasn't a refusal. The Captain took his coat off and laid it on the same chair that Nick's coat was on, then moved to sit on the arm chair in front of Nick. He would've sat on the couch next to Nick, but he had a feeling it would only make the Grimm angrier.

"Nick, this bonding," Renard started. "It'll be good for both of us." Nick only stared at him, taking another gulp of his beer. Renard sighed. "It'll also help out our friends and allies. Your friends will be better protected, just like you will be."

"Yeah, I realize that," Nick said.

"Then why are you fighting this?"

"Because you didn't even give me a choice," Nick hissed, sitting forward.

Renard sighed again, closing his eyes. He opened them again and pinned them on Nick. "If I had come up to you and asked you to do this beforehand, you would have just laughed in my face, thought I was insane or accused me of sexual harassment."

"I still think you're insane and it's still sexual harassment," Nick bit out. "If I were a woman, I'd be accusing you of attempted rape."

Renard glared at him. "I would never do that."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked, tilting his head. "You're getting pretty close to doing it. Three times now, that I know of, you've had your hands all over me when I didn't want you to. One time was while I was unconscious!"

"Nick," Renard sighed heavily. "I just want to do this bonding process and get it over with. You have no idea how dangerous it is out there right now, for you especially. If you just let me finish the process, afterwards I'll never touch you again."

"I don't want you to touch me at all!" Nick shouted, standing up and heading back into the kitchen with his empty bottle. He needed another one, if this conversation was going to continue. Renard got up and followed him.

"Nick, please," the Captain begged. "You don't know how many people are out there who want to get their hands on you!"

"Then, do please, enlighten me, your Highness," Nick spat sarcastically, tossing his bottle in the recycle bin.

Renard glowered at him but answered. "There are seven Royal families, Nick, all of them want to acquire the Portland Grimm. Either to kill you or control you. Let's not forget the key they still want from you! There's even more criminal organizations and rebel groups that want to draft your services, forcefully if necessary. Even the Resistance is hounding me to let them use you!"

Nick scoffed. "They come to YOU to ask if they can USE me?"

"Like it or not, Nick, that's how the Wesen world currently works. If there's a Royal somewhere, people will go to the Royal to ask for services or to ask permission to do just about anything in the Royal's area, before they even speak to anyone else. In the state of Oregon, that's me, bastard son or not!" Renard said, standing in front of him. He reached out to put his hand on Nick's shoulder, getting ready to say something else.

"Do not touch me!" Nick growled, yanking his shoulder away from his hand.

"Nick," Renard sighed yet again, putting his hand to his forehead to rub at the growing headache. "I'm doing this to protect you!"

"I don't need you to protect me!" Nick ground out, turning to get another beer. Hopefully, he wouldn't use it to bash Renard in the head.

"Oh, really?" Renard asked, glaring at the Grimm, his own temper rising. "Do you know what would happen if I stopped protecting you as much as I already am? You wouldn't last a day before someone managed to kill you or abduct you! Hundreds of people, Nick, hundreds of people are after you!" He made the mistake of reaching for Nick again. As soon as his hand grabbed Nick's arm, the Grimm's other hand collided with his face, fisted around a beer bottle. The bottle shattered in Nick's hand, spraying the floor and Renard with beer, as the Royal landed on his ass again. There was blood dripping from Nick's hand, a piece of glass could be seen sticking out of the Grimm's palm.

"Get out," Nick growled, standing over him.

Renard stood up, wiping beer off of his face. He took a couple steps back from the infuriated Grimm. Even he didn't like having the ultimate predator look at him like that, with murder in his eyes. Though, the beasts inside him quivered in need and arousal. "Nick," he tried again.

"Get out!" Nick shouted. A steak knife embedded itself in the kitchen's doorframe, inches from Renard's head. He hadn't even seen him pick the knife up, and he'd done it expertly with his injured hand! Renard clenched his jaw, holding his hands up in surrender. The Royal turned and walked out of the kitchen, grabbing his coat on the way to the door. He walked out, feeling slightly nervous with the sound of Nick's angry footsteps behind him. At the moment, he didn't like having an enraged Grimm walking behind him, where he couldn't see him. Renard walked out the front door and didn't have to worry about closing it, as it slammed shut behind him, nearly hitting him in the ass.

**TBC**

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**Reviews make new chapters appear...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nick fumed, pacing the length of his living room and dining room. He couldn't believe Sean Renard! The man just didn't know the meaning of the word 'NO'! Yes, he understood why he was doing it, but trying to protect him does not give the man carte blanche on methods of doing so. Although, the fact that people seemed to think he needed protection at all just made Nick even angrier.

The other thing that was driving Nick up a wall, was the fact that every time he saw Renard, his heart decided to flutter. The Grimm stopped pacing, growling and clenching his fists. He was swiftly reminded of the piece of glass sticking out of his hand. He held up the appendage and saw that it was covered in blood and the piece of glass was in there pretty deep. He looked down and saw a trail of blood leading from one end of the living room to the other end of the dining room. Crap, he'd been bleeding this whole time? How long had he been pacing again?

A knock at his door broke Nick out of his thoughts. He hid his hand behind his back and went to answer it. He opened the door to see a smiling Rosalee and Monroe.

"Um, hi," Nick said uncertainly. Monroe was sniffing the air, Rosalee had taken a cursory sniff and then sighed. She adjusted the strap of her satchel and pushed her way in the door.

"Let's see it," she ordered, walking over to the dining room table. Nick's shoulders sagged and he trudged over to the table, Monroe walking in and closing the door behind himself.

"How did you know?" Nick asked. Rosalee gave him a soft smile.

"Renard called us," she said. "He told us what happened and said that you had gotten hurt. He was worried you wouldn't take proper care of it, and he was right." She gave his hand a significant look, then glanced at the blood trail. "Give it here."

Nick frowned, his brows furrowing and his bottom lip pouting slightly. Again, Renard was doing something without asking him first. But he didn't want to argue with Rosalee, so he just sat down on one of the chairs and put his injured right hand on the table, palm up. Monroe silently took off his coat, then went to find a mop; the smell of Nick's blood was making him nauseous.

Rosalee gave a wince and a sigh, sitting down in the chair next to Nick. She started pulling things out of her bag and laying them on the table; antiseptic, bandages, gauze, tape, a jar of one of her healing ointments, and, surprisingly, a suture kit.

"I don't think I need stitches," he muttered. She gave him a pointed look and he decided to shut up and let her make the diagnosis. The Fuchsbau carefully took his hand and removed the large piece of glass from his palm and set it aside on a piece of gauze. She looked at the wound carefully, then gave another sigh, before going back into her bag and fishing out a pair of tweezers.

"It's a good thing you buy beer that's in brown colored bottles," she commented. "Splinters of clear glass would have been a lot harder to find." She pulled out a couple tiny pieces of glass from the wound on his palm and then a few more from the smaller cuts on his fingers. He hadn't realized he'd caused so much damage. "Though, maybe it would be a good idea to buy beer in cans from now on?" she said with a smirk, glancing up at him. Nick huffed a brief laugh and smiled at her.

"I wouldn't need to, if I didn't have to deal with a man who doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer or keep his hands to himself," he replied.

Rosalee gave him a half smile and continued with cleaning his hand. The Grimm hissed when the antiseptic was poured over it. He was thankful that Rosalee had the forethought to bring a numbing ointment to put on it before she started putting in stitches. The cut in the palm of his hand was a lot worse than he'd originally thought it was. He could see one of the bones in his hand in the deepest part of it. Apparently, glass beer bottles were very dangerous things when handled with enough force. He had the thing in his hand when he punched Renard, and the force of the punch that had sent the larger man to the floor, also forced the glass into his own flesh.

By the end of the stitches, Nick was biting his lip and squeezing his other fist to keep from making noises, and to keep from moving around in his seat and possibly making Rosalee screw up. The whole time this was going on, Monroe was silently mopping the floor, cleaning up the blood, beer and shattered glass. Nick also heard him yanking the knife out of the door frame. It must have been in there pretty good, because he heard the Blutbad curse while he was doing it. Nick gave a sigh of relief when Rosalee finally put the bandage over his palm. His hand ended up wrapped in gauze all the way up past his wrist. She put simple band-aids on his fingers, since they didn't need anything more.

Nick looked at his wrapped up hand and really pouted this time. He wouldn't be able to do a damn thing with his hand like this! It was his right hand too, and he was right-handed!

"You should keep it bandaged for a few days. Clean it and change the bandage every day and don't get it wet, I'll leave enough supplies to last those few days. Monroe and I will stay here tonight, in case you need anything," Rosalee said. "Besides, you'd just sit here and brood, if we left you alone." Nick scowled at her, but she just laughed and put her supplies away. "Make yourself useful and order some take-out," she commanded. The pouting Grimm stood up and turned to go get the take out menus from the desk drawer in the living room. When he went to pull his cell phone out... he remembered it was in his right pocket. He tried to reach it with his other hand, but he wasn't quite that flexible. Rosalee chuckled at the look of consternation on his face, and took pity on him. She walked over to him and pulled his phone out for him and put it in his left hand.

"Thank you," Nick said, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks, as he dialed the number on the Chinese take-out menu.

* * *

Sean Renard stood in his apartment, just standing there idly at the end of the hallway, in the doorway to his living room and kitchen. He hadn't even put his coat down, it hung off of his arm, close to simply falling to the floor. He stared off into space, while his mind ran in circles around the subject of his Grimm.

He understood why Nick was angry, but he didn't understand why he was putting up so much of a fight. He was doing this to protect him! That's all he wanted, was to protect Nick. He didn't ask Nick for permission before he started the bonding process because he knew he would just say 'No', but that didn't seem to matter. Even with the influence of the Binden Process coursing through his veins, Nick was still giving him a resounding 'No'. Nick should be feeling a sexual attraction to him by now, but either it wasn't working or Nick was hiding it very well. If he was hiding it, that might also explain why he was so angry. He was denying the attraction and was only frustrating himself by doing so.

Sean fingered the badge in his pocket; Nick's badge. He'd intended to give it back to him and tell him he wouldn't accept a resignation, but he never got the chance. Instead, he'd gotten a punch to the face with a beer bottle and had a knife thrown at his head. Sean sighed softly, finally going into his bedroom and hanging up his coat and removed his shoes, jacket, tie and shirt. He threw the jacket, the tie and the shirt in the trash, since they reeked of beer and he knew the smell and stains wouldn't come out. He looked into the mirror in his closet and noticed the blood on his cheek in the middle of a gigantic bruise. He put his fingers to it and felt it sting the cut on his face. The glass must have nicked him when it shattered against his face. He cleaned up the wound in his en suite bathroom, deeming a bandage unnecessary, then went back to his closet.

After putting on a clean shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone, he walked out of his bedroom and poured himself two fingers of his best scotch and downed it in one go.

Sean wondered how Nick was doing right now. He'd hurt his hand pretty badly, judging by the amount of blood dripping from it. He saw the piece of glass that was stuck in it, and he knew Nick was... chronically neglectful of his own health. Since he knew Nick wouldn't let him touch him with a ten foot pole, Sean had called Rosalee and asked her to check up on him, after he'd explained what happened. He'd been surprised that the Fuchsbau hadn't gotten defensive of her friend. If anything, she sounded resigned and weary. Just how often did Nick go to her with injuries that he knew nothing about? Knowing Nick the way he did and the work the Grimm got up to in his off time, Nick could be going to her every day for medical attention. That probably didn't include all the times he neglected to go to Rosalee with other possible injuries as well.

His worry for his Grimm increased ten-fold, and he had to pour himself another drink to stop himself from going back to Nick's house to check on him and force the Grimm to let him inspect his body for possible untreated injuries. No, doing that would just set him back even more. He needed to try a different approach of getting Nick to agree. But what approach should he use? Should he be rougher or gentler? Any other member of his family would just tie the Grimm down and do whatever they wanted, but he wanted to be different from his heavy-handed Royal family. He didn't know how to proceed. He needed Nick to agree to this process, if he wanted to successfully protect him and reap the benefits of being mated to a Grimm.

It was all so messed up and his head was starting to pound with the beginnings of a migraine.

That night, Sean Renard ended up passing out on his couch, half drunk and wholly tired.

* * *

The next day, Sean went to work in a gloomy mood, but he hid it behind his well practiced mask of indifference. He had to field questions about Detective Burkhardt's sudden resignation and he had a very uncomfortable conversation with Detective Griffin about the possible replacements for his partner. The man didn't want a new partner, Sean didn't want to give him a new partner, they both wanted Nick back at his desk with his badge on his belt, but the higher ups wanted answers and they wanted the questionable vacancy filled. There was too much work for it to be left open. He hadn't even told anyone that Nick had resigned, but Nick hadn't exactly been subtle about leaving, so it wouldn't have been difficult for the information to reach his superiors.

If that wasn't bad enough, Wu was giving him strange looks. After what he'd seen yesterday, and the way Nick had left, he could only imagine what was going through Wu's head about what was going on between him and Nick. They couldn't have been good ideas circling in there or the Sergeant would be teasing him about it, not staring at him like he'd personally offended him. He must have thought his Captain had been sexually harassing the detective.

The words Nick had said to him the day before ran through Sean's head, reminding him that Nick said he had been sexually harassing him. Sean had to put his pen down and rub at his forehead. He could feel a migraine building in his head. He hadn't intended it to be sexual harassment, he'd thought things with Nick would be going better than they were, since the detective should feel attracted to him. But Nick was being his usual stubborn self and now Sean looked like a pervert. Great, one more thing for him to worry about; his officers thinking he was a sick pervert who liked to force himself on his younger subordinates.

Sean pushed back from his desk and got up. His head hurt and he needed coffee, and not the sludge that was available in the bullpen. Some fresh air and a change of scenery might do him some good. The police captain grabbed his coat and walked out of his office. He paused long enough to inform one of his sergeants of where he was going (he had to tell Franco because Wu walked away from him before he could even open his mouth), then walked out of the police station.

He walked down to the little cafe down the street, his mind wandering to Nick again. He needed to come up with something to convince the Grimm that this binding was good for both of them, that he would benefit greatly from it too. They would both lose enemies and gain allies by doing it. Most of their enemies would back off because they wouldn't want to take on a Grimm and a Royal at the same time, who would have gained said allies as a result. They would gain even more allies who would support them because they wanted the protection they would get by affiliating with a bonded Grimm and Royal. As it was, more and more allies were moving in and offering their allegiance to him, and Sean really wanted to be able to assure them that the Grimm would be on their side as well. As it was, Sean couldn't even tell them that the Portland Grimm would know they existed and that they needed his help and protection. That's what a Grimm is supposed to do, protect their territory, and Nick was doing that, but he'd be able to do it a lot better if they could say that he and Sean were together.

It was an old way of thinking; a Grimm and a Royal bound together to protect their canton. But it's what people wanted, something that they all needed and something they were all desperate to see again. It was finally possible to give it, but the biggest hurdle in those plans was the stubborn Grimm who wouldn't consent to completing the process!

The idea of just forcing Nick ran through his head again, but he quickly dismissed it. It wouldn't work on Nick, he was too bull headed. He also didn't want to force him. More than anything, Sean wanted Nick to willingly fall into his bed. He didn't see that happening with the way things were going. Maybe he should ask Nick's friends for advice on how to approach Nick with the subject again?

Sean walked into the cafe and ordered an unsweetened latte with an extra shot of espresso. He needed the caffeine if he wanted to make it through the day. He took his coat off and sat at one of the little tables by the window, waiting for the barista to bring him his drink. He studied his folded hands as he waited, thinking about Nick again. He looked up when someone sat in the seat across from him, and froze, all the color draining from his face.

"Hello, brother," Eric Renard greeted him with a big smug grin on his face. Sean just stared at him, barely noticing when his coffee was set in front of him. "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I thought you were dead?" Sean asked, finally shaking himself out of his stupor.

"Yes, well," Eric said, taking Sean's coffee and taking a sip. He grimaced and grabbed the sugar from the middle of the table, pouring liberal amounts of it into the strong coffee. "That was kind of the point, wasn't it? To make everyone think I was dead. It was father's idea, really. Apparently, I'd made too many enemies for his liking and he decided to make them all think I was no longer a problem. He gave me all new employees that no one will have had the chance to corrupt and even hid me away in the wild west, where no one would look for me. Not even my own brother. Or maybe I should say, especially my own brother?" Eric sent a smile at Sean. "It was your bomb that was put in my car, wasn't it?" he asked in a dangerous tone.

Sean's mouth gaped, his mind grinding to a halt and then whirring back to life too fast for him to think of a response. Eric chuckled at the look on his face, as he took another sip of the coffee, seemingly satisfied with the adjustment in flavor.

"What do you want?" Sean finally managed to say.

"You already know what I want," Eric said, drinking Sean's coffee. He smiled at Sean again. "The same thing everyone else seems to want. The pretty little Grimm of Portland." Sean clenched his jaw to keep from spewing obscenities at his ass of a brother. "You could make things simple and just hand him over. You wouldn't even need to do anything more than make a phone call to lure him to the right place and time." Eric watched Sean carefully as he spoke.

"That wouldn't work anyway," Sean said, sighing. "Nick and I aren't really on speaking terms at the moment. Last time I spoke to him, he threw a knife at my head."

"Aw, what a pity," Eric said, giving Sean a fake frown. "Perhaps I can talk some sense into him?"

"I don't want you going anywhere near him," Sean growled through his teeth. Eric smiled indulgently at Sean. "I mean it, stay away from him!" Eric only chuckled, taking another long draw of the coffee, before he set it down in front of Sean.

"See you around, my dear brother," Eric sang, standing up and walking out of the cafe.

Sean watched him walk out, as two men in suits walked up to Eric's sides and accompanied him down the street, where he no doubt had a car waiting for him. Sean looked down at his half empty overly sweetened coffee and had to resist the urge to angrily fling it across the room.

* * *

Rosalee and Monroe were making lunch for themselves and Nick, when Monroe's phone rang. The Blutbad looked at it and mouthed 'Renard' to Rosalee, before he walked out the back door to answer it.

"Hello?" Monroe answered.

"Is Nick with you?" Renard asked by way of greeting.

"Yeah," Monroe said. "Well, I mean he's not with me personally, he's in the living room and I'm standing outside in hopes that he won't hear this conversation, but I think that's a lost cause when you're within a mile of his freakish sense of hearing."

"Okay, stay with him and don't let him out of your sight," Renard commanded. He hesitated before adding the rest of his warning. "My brother is back, and he's in Portland. I just had a wonderful chat with him." The word 'wonderful' was said with so much sarcasm and disdain that Monroe winced.

"But I thought your brother was dead?" Monroe asked, whispering into the phone.

"So did I," the other man said in a weary tone. "Turns out he faked his death."

"Oh," Monroe said. "That's... not good."

"No, it isn't," Renard said. "You need to keep Nick with you and try to keep him safe. Eric is still after him, like before. I don't know what he has planned or how many people he has working for him or who. He somehow managed to get to Portland without me hearing a word about it. He just surprised me at the cafe when I randomly decided I didn't want the coffee at the precinct, which means he has people watching me."

"Crap," Monroe muttered.

"Keep your eyes open for suspicious persons," Renard said. "I don't doubt he has people watching Nick and his friends, especially you and Rosalee. Is there anyone within your line of sight from where you are outside? Anyone you don't know?"

Monroe looked around and noticed a neighbor who was trimming a hedge... in the autumn... and he kept glancing at Monroe. Monroe frowned. That neighbor moved into the house next door months ago. He'd met him, he was a Lowen and came into the Spice Shop on a regular basis. Have they been watching Nick that long or was he being overly paranoid?

"Um," Monroe said, turning away from the neighbor. "I see Nick's neighbor who keeps looking at me, but he moved in ages ago. You think they've been keeping an eye on him that long?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Renard said with an audible sigh.

"I've met the guy, he comes into the Spice Shop for tinctures all the time," Monroe continued. "He's a Lowen."

Renard cursed in colorful French. "Oh, how did things go to Hell so fast?" he asked, more to himself than Monroe. "Is there somewhere you can go that you don't go very often? Someplace they wouldn't know about?"

"Um, no, not really," Monroe said. "Unless I want go visit my parents, but they live halfway across the country, and Rosalee's family lives in Seattle." Renard cursed again.

"What about the Eisbiber? What was his name?" Renard asked.

"Bud?" Monroe offered. "I don't know, he might flip out and, like, permanently woge himself, if we showed up at his house and said we needed to hide from dangerous Royal employees. He has kids in his home, man, it would be a bad idea. Plus, let me just add that Nick might not even go, if he so much as thinks you're giving him more orders. He is really not happy with you. I'm pretty sure that if you try to tell him to do anything right now, he'll do the opposite just to spite you." The line went silent and Monroe had to look at the phone to make sure it was still connected. "Hello?"

"That stubborn, suicidal, crazy, little... GRIMM!" Renard ranted, deciding to keep the real name he wanted to give Nick to himself.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Monroe commented.

"Oh, please, do tell," Nick's voice came from behind him. Monroe jumped so high his feet left the ground and he woged, as he spun around and looked at the Grimm who snuck up on him. He hadn't heard him coming at all, not even when he opened the door.

"Nick! Dammit, don't do that!" Monroe shrieked at him, woging back to his human face.

"Give me the phone," Nick said, holding out his uninjured hand. Monroe handed it to him slowly, keeping his eyes on Nick's face to try and gauge his emotions. He didn't really need to, though. It didn't take a genius to know the man was pissed. Nick put the phone to his ear. "Why can't you and your family just stay out of my life?" he growled at the Royal on the other end of the line.

"Nick," Renard said. "I can't..."

"No! I don't want to hear any more excuses," Nick cut him off. "Tell me the real reason you won't leave me the hell alone!"

Renard paused on the other end of the line. "I can't tell you that right now," he said. "You'll only misunderstand and get even more angry with me."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that answer is giving me so many more reasons to trust you," Nick said sarcastically. "You know what? Take your protection schemes and shove them up your ass! If your brother wants to come for me, fine. I'll deal with him when the time comes. In the meantime, you stay the fuck away from me!" Nick hung up the phone and handed it back to Monroe, who was staring at him like he was nuts. He'd never heard his friend curse like that before.

Nick spun on his heal and walked back into the house, going past a stunned Rosalee who had heard Nick's end of the conversation, since he'd pretty much been yelling the whole time. Monroe turned to look at Nick's neighbor again, but noticed that he wasn't there anymore, his trimming sheers laying on the ground, forgotten.

"Oh, no," Monroe said, looking around for him and not finding him. Monroe ran back inside to attempt to talk some sense into his Grimm friend. Now was really not the time to be so defiant as to put himself and others in danger just to spite the big boss.

**TBC**

* * *

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Monroe rushed into the house and followed Nick who went to sit in the living room to brood.

"Nick, man, think about this," he begged. "If Renard's brother is back, that's really bad news! Remember what happened last time he tried to nab you? He nearly killed hundreds of people just to distract Captain Renard from protecting you! What do you think he'll do this time?!"

There was that word again. Protect. Nick glared at Monroe, who froze, his muscles tensed, his instincts telling him to run for it, but he knew his friend wouldn't hurt him. The look in Nick's eyes wasn't really bolstering that notion, though.

"Why does everyone assume I need protecting?" Nick hissed.

"Because, so far, every time someone wasn't protecting you, you've been blindsided and ended up getting hurt," Rosalee said in a stern voice.

"What she said," Monroe said, pointing at Rosalee. Nick looked at her, somewhat surprised at the apparent venom that laced Rosalee's voice right then.

"You can only do so much on your own, and all of your enemies know that. That's why they always throw so much at you at once, that you can't handle it on your own," Rosalee explained, moving to stand in front of him. "These people want to hurt you, Nick, and you need to start taking things a little more seriously. You're not the quiet human detective anymore, you're a Grimm; a species of human that is in high demand at moment. The demand is so high, in fact, that people are willing to kill and maim just to get to you, and others are willing to do the same just to keep their rivals from getting to you first. All Grimms are in a lot of danger right now, and you even more so because you're so open about your status as a Grimm and your refusal to run or hide like other Grimms, and Renard has been just as open about you being under his protection in an attempt to get some of those people to back off, putting himself in danger just by supporting you. Sean Renard is doing what he can to make sure you don't get killed or kidnapped and tortured into submission, which is exactly what Eric Renard will do to you. He'll grab you, torture you, and if you don't submit, he'll kill you to keep you away from Sean."

Nick sat and stared at her, at a loss for words. He realized that Rosalee was worried about him, very worried. If he's really in so much danger, what should he do about it? He didn't want to just go to Renard and let him finish the process. Couldn't he fight against the ones who were threatening him and those he cared about? That's what he could do, that's what he knew how to do, but no one seemed to want to let him do it. Threats against him he didn't really have a problem with, he dealt with those all the time, but his friends were in danger too, just for being his friends. What should he do?

* * *

Eric Renard hung up his phone and stared down at it. He'd just heard back from an informant that Sean had informed the Grimm that he was there and that he wanted him. He was annoyed to hear that Sean was insisting the Grimm go into hiding. Perhaps he should just send a team in now, before he could think of where to go to hide? He had everything ready for when the Grimm would be brought to him, so why not?

Yes, sooner would be better, if the rumors were to be believed. Apparently, the Grimm was going around stinking of a Royal mate. The thought sent a spike of rage through Eric. His bastard half brother thought he was good enough to claim a Grimm for a mate? Well, then it was time to dole out some sweet revenge. His brother was trying to steal some power away from him by snatching up a powerful mate. He would not allow that. There were only three possible outcomes to this; Eric would turn the Grimm over his side, Sean would have to pry the Grimm from his cold dead hands, or Eric would send Sean a cold dead Grimm.

A slow smile spread across the prince's face, as he turned to look out over his property. He had a large manor in the middle of the woods, plenty of space to do what he needed to do without raising suspicion. Far enough away that no one would be able to hear the screams from his newly built dungeon for miles around. He even had a private jet on stand by to take the Grimm to Vienna if and when the time came. His father had quietly put Eric here in Portland to observe Sean and his Grimm, to find an opportunity to grab Nicholas Burkhardt. His father was getting quite annoyed with his youngest son and his disregard of the King's authority over him. Sean seemed to think he had full control over Portland, as though it were his own kingdom. How wrong he was. Sean was stepping on a lot of toes while playing around with this notorious Grimm. A Key Grimm.

No, it wouldn't happen. Sean would mate with a Grimm when hell froze over!

The King would have preferred for the acquisition to be done as silently as possible, but he had given Eric permission to do it loudly as well, if given the opportunity. The opportunity seemed to be presenting itself. No, there would be no chase or trap this time. He would just take what he wanted.

Sean should have really kept a better handle on the Grimm, if he wanted to keep it.

"I think we've danced around enough. Bring him to me," Eric ordered, one of his guards immediately turned and left the room to pass along his order.

* * *

Nick was lost in thought. Rosalee and Monroe had gone back to making lunch. They were making stir fry; vegetarian for Monroe, low fat chicken for Rosalee and a heavy red meat dish for the healing Grimm. He still had no idea what to do about everything that was going on. If Eric Renard was trying to steal him again, then by common sense he should take whatever help he could get. Unfortunately, that meant letting Sean Renard help him, and he would want Nick to let him finish the bonding process. Nick didn't want anything to do with that, if only because his Captain had taken the choice away from him, the jerk wad.

Rosalee set the table, as Monroe brought the food out.

"Food's done, Nick," Rosalee called to him.

Nick got up and walked into the dining room. He was put at the head of the table, while Monroe and Rosalee sat at his sides. The two of them had chop sticks, but they'd given Nick an idiot and injury proof fork. He still had to use his left hand to eat. There was too much padding on his right hand to even attempt eating with it. It probably would have hurt too much anyway. It was a good thing they had decided to make noodles with the stir fry instead of rice. Noodles he could just twirl onto his fork, rice would have been a nightmare.

They ate in comfortable company, with light-hearted chatter and banter between them. There was a lot of teasing going on, mostly of Nick's stubbornness and his most recent actions against the Captain's stupidity.

"I still can't believe you threw a knife at him," Monroe commented. "I mean, anyone else would be put to death for trying to harm the Prince of Portland."

"That's what he gets for not keeping his hands to himself," Nick muttered, taking another clumsy bite of his spicy beef stir fry. "And it's not like I actually hit him with it. No matter how much I wanted to, I didn't feel like going to prison for murder or attempted murder."

They finished their meal a few minutes later. Monroe cleaned up and Rosalee changed Nick's bandage, before they settled the stubborn Grimm on the sofa in front of the TV. They didn't trust him not to get into anything and possibly hurt himself or reopen his stitches. Nick didn't appreciate being treated like a child, but as Rosalee pointed out...

"We wouldn't need to, if you would act like the grown man you think you are," she said, handing him the TV remote. Nick pouted and turned the TV on. He changed the channel to Animal Planet and found there was a documentary on about foxes. He changed it to Comedy Central when Rosalee glared at him.

Ten minutes into the stand up comedy show he was watching, he turned the volume all the way down. He thought he'd heard something... His hearing made it so he could hear just about everything within a mile radius of where he was. He heard several cars, many of which seemed to be getting closer. He also heard some of his neighbors. His newest next door neighbor was on the phone, and he seemed to be speaking in... German. Shit! He caught the words "Blutbad und Fuchsbau" and felt his heart stop. He quietly got up off the couch and went to get his spare gun from in the cabinet, as he heard several cars squeal onto his street. He ignored the pain in his injured hand and open the gun case.

"Monroe," he said loud enough for the clock maker to hear him.

"Yeah?" Monroe called from the kitchen.

"Could you come here, please?" Nick said in a deceptively calm voice, just as he clumsily put the loaded clip into his gun with his bandaged hand and cocked it.

"Whoa, what are you doin'?" Monroe asked, coming out of the kitchen to see his best friend with a loaded gun in his hand.

"I think we're about to have some unfriendly company," Nick said, listening to the approaching cars. He heard them screech to a halt outside his house. There was no way Monroe didn't hear that. Nick looked at him and saw that Monroe had lost all of the color from his face.

"They wouldn't!" Monroe hissed. "Not in broad daylight!"

"They would if a certain asshole prince told them to," Nick said, peering through the curtains of his living room window. "You and Rosalee need to hide. Now." He watched several large SUVs empty out their dozens of passengers.

With this, it was obvious Eric was blatantly disregarding any authority his younger brother might have in this territory. Eric had tried to be stealthy and underhanded with his last attempt, throwing out a major distraction to hide his real intentions. This time he was being heavy-handed, showing just how much power he had by sicking as many dogs as he could after Nick, consequences be damned. There was no way this operation would go unnoticed, and there was no way all of these soldiers and Verrat enforcers would make it back alive. Eric must be getting desperate, or just frustrated. Then again, he might just be spitting in Sean's face.

"What?!" Monroe said. "No way! Uh uh! If we go hide somewhere, you're coming with us!"

"What's going on?" Rosalee asked, coming into the room, worriedly looking around at the shadows moving outside the house.

"They're not going to just leave without finding me, Monroe," Nick argued. "I'd rather you two didn't get shot or killed just for being here."

"The Verrat are not here already?!" Rosalee asked, her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide. "Sean only warned us half an hour ago! I thought we'd have more time!" She looked around more frantically. It was only a matter of seconds before they wouldn't be able to run anymore.

"I guess Prince Eric doesn't want to waste any more time," Nick murmured, listening to the people outside his house. They were surrounded already.

"That neighbor!" Monroe growled, his eyes turning red. "He must have heard what I was saying to Sean and then went and tattled to Eric!"

"Nevermind that," Nick hissed. "You two need to go! Hide, dammit!" He took a step towards his friends to hustle them to the stairs that lead upstairs. The two Wesen didn't have time to argue or go upstairs to hide, as at that moment, the doors were kicked in and the whole house was quickly flooded with heavily armed Verrat and grinning Reapers with huge scythes.

Nick brought his gun up in his left hand and fired.

* * *

Sean was massaging his throbbing temples. He didn't understand. He'd had coffee, he'd taken some aspirin, and he'd even gotten some Excedrin from Franco. Why did his head hurt so damn much?! His phone startled him out of his pained thoughts, the ringing seeming to cut through his brain like a dull spoon. He hit the answer button as fast as he could, just to get the noise to stop.

"Renard," he answered, putting the phone gingerly to his ear.

"Sean! We need help!" Rosalee's voice shouted into his ear. There were sounds of a struggle going on in the background.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked, his headache mostly forgotten.

"It looks like your brother decided not to waste anymore time," Rosalee said. The sound of a door banging shut was heard, the other sounds dulling down. Her voice was a whisper on the other end now. "They're in the house. Th-They're trying to overwhelm Nick, Monroe was knocked out. I'm in the broom cupboard... There's a lot of them, Sean! They're all Verrat and a few Reapers, and there was almost no warning. The only forewarning we had was your earlier phone call and Nick's hearing. He heard them coming, but not soon enough to do more than grab his gun and tell us to hide."

"Stay where you are, I'm on my way," Sean said. "Stay on the line with me." He got up and opened his office door and started barking orders, while his phone was still pressed to his ear. The officers in the bullpen scrambled to follow his orders, but they moved even faster when Nick's name was mentioned. The Captain was the first one out the door, followed closely behind by Hank and Wu, and an entire entourage of police officers.

It only took a few short minutes for close to thirty officers to weapon up and get on their way in speeding squad cars and loud sirens. The Captain was in the passenger seat of Hank's vehicle, since he wanted to stay on the line with Rosalee. He could hear the sounds of the fight continuing. Nick was obviously putting up quite the fight. He heard the telltale loud ringing shots of a Glock 22; Nick was firing his gun in rapid succession. Hopefully, he was hitting his targets, though Sean doubted the Grimm would have enough bullets for all of his opponents, if Rosalee's words were anything to go by. Sean wouldn't be surprised to find several dead bodies in Nick's home. He just hoped none of them were Nick. Although, he was certain the orders were to bring Nick in alive, but accidents happened.

He felt like the car was moving too slow, but glancing over, he saw that the speedometer read ninety miles per hour.

The fight sounds stopped on the other end of the line and Sean's heart faltered.

"Rosalee?" he asked.

"I'm still here," she whispered, her breathing was heavy with fear. There was a banging sound and Rosalee screamed and then the phone line cut out.

"Rosalee!" Sean shouted. He took the phone away from his ear and looked at Hank. "Drive faster!" Hank didn't need to be told twice, and he pushed the pedal to the floor.

**TBC**

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**I am begging for reviews here. I need to know if you actually like this story and if you have any ideas on how I can make it better, BEFORE I get too far into the story to add and change stuff.  
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	7. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

AUTHOR'S NOTICE:

To all of my followers, I apologize a hundred times over for not updating any of my fics for a while. I had an accident some time ago and ended up breaking a few vertebrae in my spine. I had to have a major surgery to repair it, and I've basically been out of commission for a while. So, since then I have been on more pain medication than I care to be, and hence, have not been able to focus on writing... or much of anything really. It's taking a lot of time to recover and I've only recently been allowed to reduce my medications. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to ALL of my stories very soon.

Please don't give up on me yet! I haven't abandoned any of my fics, I promise!

However, if for some reason someone would like to take over one of my stories, to get it going again sooner than I would, I'm okay with letting some of them go through another's mind to find their completion.

Thank you for understanding!


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